Rubio ends India visit, announces $500 bn trade pledge

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded a four-day visit to India aimed at stabilizing a bilateral relationship strained by recent trade disputes and geopolitical shifts. The trip, which ran from May 23 to 26, included high-level meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, as well as a gathering of foreign ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising the United States, India, Japan, and Australia.

Officials framed the visit as an effort to repair ties following a period of friction. Tensions had escalated earlier in the year after the United States imposed significant tariffs on Indian goods, citing India's continued purchase of Russian oil. While those tariffs were later reduced, the episode created uncertainty. Other points of concern for New Delhi included recent U.S. diplomatic engagement with Pakistan and evolving American outreach to China, highlighted by a recent summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

During the visit, Rubio repeatedly described India as central to U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific and called the Quad a cornerstone of regional stability. He announced that...